Addison's Adventures in Disneyland
by Darling Pretty
Summary: A lot can happen in the most magical place on Earth! Addison can attest to that. Addison/Alex oneshot.


**This was inspired by a recent trip to my favorite place on earth (incidentally, the happiest as well): Disneyland, of course! I'm sorry that it's so filled with cheese and clichés, but I love cheese and clichés, especially when they're Disney-related! After all, isn't that what Disney is all about?**

**It's dedicated to my bestie, Morgan, in anticipation of our senior trip, and just to say thank you for being an outstanding listener and friend! I couldn't get through a day without her!**

**I own nothing.**

* * *

She takes a deep breath as she prepares to answer the doorbell. Smoothing her skirt, she steels herself and opens the door.

"Lucy Cameron Shepherd, if you don't stop crying _this second_, I'll let _you _deal with Auntie Addison's temper."

The six year old immediately is quiet, but not for the reason threatened. A huge grin spreads across Lucy's face when she recognizes Addison's red hair and familiar face. "Aunt Addie!" she exclaims, throwing her little body into Addison's waiting arms.

"Hi, Addison," Meredith says sheepishly.

Addison quirks an eyebrow. "Letting Luce deal with _my _temper? Really? That's your punishment?"

"Aunt Addie, guess what! Me and my friend Sasha went to the Space Needle and we went all the way up to the top!"

"Really, Luce?" Addison smiles.

"Really!"

"Hey, Addie," Derek says as he brings Lucy's tiny suitcase from the car. "What's going on?"

"Your wife has already managed to stick her foot in her mouth," Addison laughs.

"Great," Derek says, joining in on the laughter.

"Your daddy and your auntie are really mean to your mommy, you know that, Lucy?" Meredith asks her daughter loudly.

"Lucy, are you excited to spend the weekend with your Aunt Addison?" Derek asks.

"Yeah!" Lucy screams.

Addison laughs joyously. Okay, so maybe it's weird that she agreed to babysit her ex-husband's child while he goes to a conference with his current wife. Maybe it's weird that she treats her ex-husband and his wife as friends. Maybe it's weird that she treats his child like a niece. But right now, with Lucy currently begging to go inside, she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Actually," Meredith says timidly, "I have another favor to ask you."

"Uh-huh?"

"Alex is here with us," she announces.

Addison blinks. "Alex, as in Alex Karev Alex?" she asks, even though that's an absolutely stupid question.

There's silence for a moment as Meredith steels her nerves and then everything comes tumbling out. "We couldn't leave him in Seattle, okay? We didn't really have a choice. Izzie's back and she's acting really kind of skanky and bitchy and it's tearing him up, and we just needed to bring him."

Addison has a sneaking suspicion that she's really going to hate this favor.

"So he's here, and he doesn't have anything to do while Derek and I are at that conference, and… could he _please _just hang with you and Lucy tomorrow. He doesn't have to stay here tonight; Derek and I can just give him a ride over on our way to the conference. Please?"

Addison studies her friend's pleading face and sighs. "Yeah, okay, fine. Whatever."

There's a slight cough and when she looks up, she sees the subject of their conversation staring her in the face. "Hey," he says slowly, not sure if he's welcome.

"Hi," Addison replies quietly. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear while she studies the face of the last straw in her move to Los Angeles. She's only seen him once or twice since she left so, while the anger is gone, it's still really awkward. But this silence is more than awkward; this silence means something to both of them. He's trying to apologize and she smiles slightly to accept it.

Meredith looks suspiciously at the pair. "You guys okay?"

"Oh, yeah. Fine. Just fine," they stammer. Meredith hides as grin as she goes to help Derek unpack Lucy's things.

0ooo0

The next morning, Addison is awoken from her sugar-induced coma (ice cream, brownies, and a movie with a six year old do not exactly make for a restful evening) by Lucy jumping on the bed, screeching her name.

Addison looks groggily at the clock. "Lucy, it's seven in the morning. What's wrong?"

"Uncle Alex is here," Lucy announces with a smile. Addison blinks in shock. Lucy sees this and explains, "Mommy and Daddy had to go and they had to drop Uncle Alex off so they could go, go, go!"

"Lucy, I told you _not _to wake her up!" Alex exclaims from the doorway. He looks at Addison who feels her cheeks start to warm as his gaze travels to her tiny tank top. Well, it's not like she had planned on him being here before she was dressed! Meredith and Derek hadn't said anything about seven in the morning. "Sorry. You know she has no idea how to listen."

"Sounds like someone I know," Addison says with a sardonic smile.

"Auntie, we have _so _much to do today!" Lucy exclaims.

"We do?" Addison asks. Humoring the six year old, she continues, "And what do you want to do today, Luce?"

"Disneyland!" she cries definitively. "You promised!"

And promised she had. The last time Meredith and Derek had brought their daughter down to see her, she had promised a trip to Disneyland the next time she came. Now it's next time and she does have Lucy for the whole day.

She thinks logistics over quickly in her head. It's a Thursday in April, so the park shouldn't be crowded and they're early enough to get into the park before what crowd there is arrives. She looks up and meets Alex's eyes. "Want to go to Disneyland?" she shrugs with a slight smile.

0ooo0

"Look, look, look!" Lucy cries happily, pointing to the flowers in front of the train station at the entrance, "Mickey!"

"Wow," Alex says, surveying the entrance.

"Yeah," Addison breathes blissfully, but then realizes that his wow was an actual wonder-filled wow, so she looks at him. "Have you never been here before?"

"No."

"Wait, I'm here with _two _newbies? Oh, you are so wearing the button!"

"Button?" he asks skeptically, but it's too late and he's already being dragged into the Main Street City Hall.

"There is no way I'm wearing this," he proclaims as Addison finishes pinning Lucy's "First Visit" button to her shirt, turning his own button over in his hands.

"I paid for your ticket," she points out. "You're wearing the button."

He grimaces, but jams the button onto his shirt nonetheless.

"Uncle Alex, we're matching!" Lucy crows happily.

"See?" Addison says. "You've made a six-year-old very happy."

He rolls his eyes but doesn't reply.

"Okay, Luce, what do you want to do first?" Addison inquires.

"Space Mountain!" Lucy cries without hesitation. Addison is pretty sure that she only says this because it's the only ride that she knows. She looks to Alex for complaints, but he just shrugs.

"Okay then. Let's go," Addison commands.

"Aunt Addie, look at the castle! Uncle Alex, do you see it?" Both adults laugh at Lucy's excited cries. You'd have to be blind not to see the pink castle soaring above the park at the end of Main Street U.S.A.

"Lucy, stop here," Addison requests, leading her little group to the front of the castle. "I want to get your picture." She pulls out her camera and snaps a picture of the grinning Lucy.

"Do you want me to take one of you and her?" Alex offers.

"Oh, um, sure," she agrees, handing him her camera. She kneels down next to Lucy and smiles as he takes the picture. "Thanks."

"No problem," he says. He studies her with the stare that isn't afraid of her catching him looking. She's seen that look before once or twice (the NICU and the bar spring to mind). She shifts a little uncomfortably under his gaze, but then Lucy starts chanting "Space Mountain!" and they both look away.

0ooo0

"That was so _cool_!" Lucy exclaims, jumping around in the exit from Space Mountain.

Alex and Addison walk after her, a little slower than the super hyper jumping bean. "What did you think?" Addison asks him quietly.

"It was really fun," he replies. "Definitely worth the wait."

She laughs. "Usually that ride has something like a seventy-five minute wait. Fifteen minutes is absolutely nothing."

"Seriously? Seventy-five minutes? It's like a two minute ride!"

"Things are different here. Thirty minutes is a reasonable wait and six dollars is an acceptable price for a pen."

He looks at her for a while and finally asks, "You really love it here, don't you?"

"I know it's stupid," she says, starting to blush, "but I can't help it. There's just something magical about it."

They watch Lucy skip happily in front of them. "Luce, where do you want to go next?" Addison calls.

"I don't know!" Lucy replies with a laugh. "You choose, Aunt Addie!"

Addison considers everything. Fortunately, Lucy is fearless, so she'll go on anything that she's tall enough to get on, and she's tall enough to get on everything.

"Any ideas, Alex?" Addison asks, trying to be a good host. He shrugs; it's not like he knows where he's going. So Addison makes the executive decision to cross the park to Indiana Jones, even though it's on the other side and, like Indiana Jones, she hates snakes (that will only make sense to those who have been on the ride).

0ooo0

After Indiana Jones (possibly Alex's favorite ride of the day), they ride a couple more rides, then stop at the Café New Orleans on New Orleans Square for lunch. They all look up as a brass band starts playing. "Aunt Addie, it's Tiana!" Lucy exclaims.

"Tiana?" Alex asks, taking a bite of his clam chowder.

"She's from _The Princess and the Frog_. It's a great movie."

"You went to go see a G-rated movie?"

"I took Lucy," she says defensively. "The last time she was down here."

"Aunt Addie, can I go see her please?" Lucy begs.

Addison nods her consent and watches as Lucy runs the ten yards to the princess. She continues to keep her eyes on the girl, ready to spring up at any moment.

Alex watches this with interest. "Most people don't even talk to their ex-husbands," he comments. "You babysit his kid."

She shrugs. "I don't know. I don't hate him. And Meredith is okay once you get past the husband's mistress thing."

"It's weird."

She keeps watching Lucy, making sure she's okay. "He's my family. Just because we're divorced doesn't change that. I don't…"

"You don't what?" he prompts when she trails off.

For one second, she tears her eyes away from Lucy. "I don't want to be alone," she whispers, avoiding his eyes. He waits until she looks up, and opens his mouth like he's going to say something.

"Uncle Alex, check out my beads!" Lucy says, running up. "I got to meet Tiana! That was so cool!"

"Sounds like it, Luce," he replies.

"Can we go on another ride now?"

0ooo0

"You don't have to do this," Addison says to Alex. "I can take her on if you don't want to go."

"It's fine," he replies.

"I'm serious. If you want to go get something to eat or something, Lucy and I can go."

"Addison," he says forcefully. "I'll go."

They're standing outside of the most controversial ride in Disneyland. It's one of those rides that you either love or hate, and there truly is no middle ground. Addison is in the rather small camp of adults who actually loves the ride, but she's rather certain that Alex will not be.

"Okay," she says hesitantly. "But don't say I didn't warn you…"

"Come _on_, guys, let's go!" Lucy exclaims, dragging Addison along.

0ooo0

It's been three hours and he still has the damn song stuck in his head. Addison _knew _that he wouldn't be a fan of It's a Small World, but he had insisted, a fact that she continues to point out any time that he blames her for allowing him to get on the ride.

"Uncle Alex, if you're going to complain about the song again, I'm going to scream," Lucy threatens with a smile. They're walking in Downtown Disney on their way home. Lucy looks into a store window. "Aunt Addie, look!" she breathes. Addison looks and sees Lucy practically salivating over a Sleeping Beauty costume.

Impulsively, she takes Lucy's hand and leads her into the store.

"Dude, you're really going to buy her a hundred dollar dress?" Alex asks skeptically.

Addison looks back. "Why not? It's only money and she loves it," she shrugs. "If it makes her happy…"

"You're kind of spoiling her, aren't you?"

"Maybe. But it makes me happy too."

He laughs. "You're a weird woman, Addison Montgomery."

Addison smiles and searches for the dress in Lucy's size in silence.

"Look," Alex says suddenly. "About before… In Seattle…"

"It's okay," she interrupts, hoping to avoid this.

"No, it's not. I treated you really badly and I'm sorry."

"Alex, it's fine."

"Would you just let me finish?!" She motions for him to continue. "I shouldn't have treated you like I did and I regret it all the time. The truth is that I was scared. I just… I'm sorry."

She smiles and grabs the dress. She calls Lucy over to make sure it fits and all three of them go to stand in line. Finally, as they approach the counter, she says quietly, "I forgave you a long time ago."

"Oh."

"What a beautiful girl," the cashier comments, smiling at Lucy.

"Oh, she's not, um, she's not," Addison and Alex stammer in unison.

"They're my aunt and uncle," Lucy says matter-of-factly.

"Ah," the cashier replies knowingly. "Well, I hope you all had fun today. There's nothing more fun than being with your loved ones in Disneyland."

"I know!" Lucy exclaims happily. "Today was the best day ever!"

Addison smiles as she signs the receipt. "Thank you very much."

"Have a nice day," the cashier says.

0ooo0

"Addison, this is _too _much," Meredith insists when they come home last night.

"It's not a problem," Addison answers, shoving a strand of hair behind her ear. "We had a great time."

"But you took her to Disneyland, you bought her a dress, it's too much!"

"Meredith, I'm serious. I had a great time today and I don't regret it. It wasn't a big deal, so stop trying to make it one."

"Well, thank you."

"You're welcome."

"So how was it?" Meredith asks after a moment. "Did Disneyland work it's magic?"

Addison thinks back over the day. It was nice to spend time with Alex again, and it was nice to get an apology from him. "You know what? It definitely did."

Alex appears in the doorway. "Can I talk to you for a second?" he asks.

"I'll just… I'll go put Lucy's stuff in the car," Meredith says a little awkwardly. "Nice button, by the way."

He takes the button off as she walks out of the room. "Look," he starts.

"Alex," she says, turning away from him.

"I had fun today."

"Me too."

After a moment, she says, "I'm sorry Izzie left you. That can't be easy."

"She came back," he informs her. "She came back and I left her."

Addison turns to face him, surprise reading all over her face. "You did?"

"I deserve better than someone who's going to run."

"You do," she agrees tentatively. She's not exactly sure where this is going.

"I don't want someone who's just going to focus on the bad stuff in life. They'll run when things get bad."

"Yeah?"

He hesitates. "I want someone who… I want someone who loves things because they make her happy. That's not Izzie. I want someone who loves Disneyland."

Addison swallows and bites her lip. "This doesn't make any sense," she whispers.

"I know." She hadn't been aware that he was moving closer slowly. She's surprised to find him less than a foot away and then he kisses her. And then everything makes sense.

_**1 ½ Years Later…**_

"Alex, come on, we're going to miss the fireworks show," Addison says, grabbing his hand.

"I'm pretty sure you can see the fireworks from anywhere in the park," he replies. "Probably from anywhere in a fifty mile radius."

She glares at him. "I want to watch them on Main Street, and we need to get there early if we're going to get a good spot."

He grins and wanders off. "Where are you going?" she calls after him.

"Go ahead and get a spot. I'll catch up."

He buys them both ice cream sundaes, even though it's just after Thanksgiving. They're in LA; it's not like it's actually cold. She smiles and takes her sundae when he finds her. He's just in time. The show begins as they take their first bites of ice cream. She smiles and grins at the holiday themed music and light show. Everything is just perfect. She's in Disneyland with her boyfriend and it's Christmastime. Things could not possibly get any better.

And yet they do.

At the end of the show, the song "White Christmas" begins to play and fans are heard whirling. And then, right in the middle of Southern California, a light snow begins to fall on Main Street. She laughs and tilts her head up to meet it.

"This is perfect," she sighs.

"Not quite," he replies.

She frowns and looks at him. "What do you mean, not quite?"

"I have something else in mind." He smirks a little and reaches into his pocket to pull out a little box. She gasps and tears spring to her eyes. "I love you, Addison, and… and I don't want you to be alone ever again. Marry me?"

Addison looks around; people are looking at her expectantly, urging her to say yes to her kneeling boyfriend. It's snowing and "White Christmas" is playing. She spent the day in Disneyland and she's on Main Street. Deep down, she knows there's only one answer to give. She takes a deep breath. "Yes," she manages to get out and then happy tears start falling.

**1 Year Later…**

"Alex, we're not going to Disneyland for our anniversary!" she insists.

"Why not?" he asks. "I mean, it seems fitting."

"Because."

"Because isn't a reason."

"Because when we go," Addison says, hesitating a little. "I want to be able to go on all the rides, which I can't do for awhile."

He looks at her strangely. "What?"

"We can't go to Disneyland because if we go to Disneyland then I'm going to want to go on all the roller coasters and I can't do that _in my condition_." She widens her eyes a little, hoping he'll get the message.

He frowns and then things start to dawn a little. "Are you…?"

She nods happily. "I'm pregnant."

The words are hardly out of her mouth before her husband scoops her up to kiss her.

**5 Years Later…**

"Look, Mommy, Mickey!" Alexandra Karev exclaims. She turns to her thirteen year old cousin. "Lucy, do you see him?"

"Isn't he cool, Allie?" Lucy asks, pulling her long hair up off her neck. "But wait until you see the castle!"

"There's a _castle_?!" Allie cries happily. She grabs her cousin's hand and demands that she show her.

Addison waits for her husband to catch up and together they hurry to catch up with the two girls.

"Wow!" Allie breathes.

"Allie, Lucy, stop here," Addison says when they're in front of the castle. "I want to get your picture." She quickly snaps one of the two grinning girls when Alex grabs the camera and shoves her in the frame. She picks up their daughter and they all smile.

"What a beautiful family," an older woman says. "Let me take a family photo."

Lucy looks a little uncertain where she's supposed to be and tries to inch out of the picture. "Lucy, come here," Addison orders. "You're family too."

Lucy grins and wraps her arms around Addison's waist. Alex stands behind her. "Wonderful!" the woman says and takes the picture. She hands the camera back to Addison.

"Okay, Allie, you _have _to go on It's a Small World," Lucy says. Allie agrees readily. They wander off just a little, looking at the statue of Mickey and Walt Disney.

Alex leads Addison to the middle of Main Street. She grins. "This is exactly where you proposed to me." He shrugs. "Alex Karev, you're a closet romantic!" Addison laughs.

"Not usually," he replies. "Just in Disneyland."

"Disney magic," Addison confirms.

"Aunt Addie, Uncle Alex, would you please hurry up?" Lucy calls.

They laugh and catch up to the two girls.

* * *

**Disney magic indeed... I'm hoping the Disney magic inspires a desire to review, but that's up to you, I guess.**

**-Juli-**


End file.
